Traditional water disinfection systems utilize ultra-violet light in the germicidal range to inactivate bacteria and eliminate viruses or Ozone gas to oxidize most micro-organisms. While largely successful with known pathogens, emergent contaminants may present a challenge where the aforementioned methods fail to sanitize water to an acceptable standard. To address such challenges, newer, highly effective methods are evaluated.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a system, integral with a water container or vessel, which utilizes an electric discharge directly induced in the fluid to cause various reactions to occur including the generation of the highly reactive hydroxyl radical (OH), atomic oxygen, ozone, and even ultra-violet radiation. These reactions are highly effective in the elimination of bacteria, viruses, and many organic and inorganic compounds.